Laboratory suggestive evidence

Clinical evidence

Credible clinical smallpox as judged by an expert physician.

Epidemiological evidence

An epidemiological link to a confirmed case.

Note

The Guidelines for Smallpox Outbreak, Preparedness, Response and Management include separate case definitions for smallpox surveillance both preceding and during an outbreak. The Guidelines define confirmed, probable, suspected and possible cases for the purposes of public health response. The definitions are at some variance with the case definitions for reporting to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Suspected cases and possible cases should also be reported to the State/Territory health department.